Storm Clouds May Gather
by BikerChick101
Summary: "In the midst of all this chaos, she was his anchor" Varchie: 3-parter following Archie and Veronica before and after the trial and the fall out from it
1. Stormclouds May Gather

Veronica Lodge promised herself that she would not cry, this was supposed to be a light and fun day and God knows that Archie needed something light and fun after his summer. She adjusted her sunglasses and stretched a hand out to rest on the back of Archie's neck as he drove them out to a lake that he, Betty and Jughead used to go to back when they were children. Archie tilted his head back, pushing against her fingers and smiling to himself but keeping his eyes on the road, Veronica let her eyes linger on his face for a little longer before she turned back to look out at the scenery.

"I wonder if that swinging rope your dad tied to the tree is still there," Betty said to Archie, as she snuggled into Jughead's side and Archie's face seemed to light up at the memory forming in his mind, not for the first time Veronica wished that she was a part of their childhood, that she could remember things that they did.

"It should be," Archie said loudly over the wind so Betty could hear him. Archie glanced over at Veronica who shrugged slightly, Jughead and Betty were laughing about memories at the lake involving the rope and Veronica was listening but she didn't get the humour, she just had to be there she thought. "I'll explain later," Archie promised when he caught the look on the face.

Veronica smiled at him, pushing out of her seat to press a kiss to his cheek and grinned to herself as his cheeks turned red, they'd been together for so long and done so much, yet sometimes she would catch him off guard with the most innocent kiss or touch and Archie's cheeks would flush in the most adorable way. She almost waited for moments to catch him off guard just to see that look of disbelief that she was really his on his face, it always warmed her heart that she could be that certain that he loved her as much as she loved him.

It was almost half an hour before Archie finally brought the car to a stop, sighing happily as he switched the car off and jumped out, rushing to the other side to open Veronica's door for her and help her out. Next to them she saw Jughead picking Betty up by the waist to help her jump over the door before she crashed into him sending them both toppling over to a laughing pile on the ground.

"The weather is amazing," Archie said grabbing their picnic stuff out of the car and looking out toward the lake, it looked so peaceful, there was no-one else in sight, to be honest there wasn't even that many cars on the road toward the end of their trip. "It's been so long since we've been up here."

"How did you find this place?" Veronica asked taking her sunglasses off and placing them on the top of her head.

"Our parents brought us out here a lot when we were kids, our dad's were pretty close and it was one of their old hangouts," Archie said and Veronica nodded taking the blankets when he handed them to her. "As we grew up and our parents grew apart we had less of these trips and more of our own trips in town."

"Sound's fun," Veronica said softly walking with him to where Betty and Jughead already were and throwing them the supplies to start setting up. Veronica tried to remember places her parents took her when she was a child, there were multiple business trips to the best shopping destinations she could ask for, her mother accompanied her on as many trips as she could but there was a difference to the trips that Archie was describing where the point was to have fun, there were no other reasons to be there but to be together, she never had that.

"Let's go," Jughead said snapping Veronica out of her thoughts after they set up their little picnic area for when they were done swimming, by the time Jughead had turned back Betty was already sprinting toward the edge of the hill. "Hey wait for me."

"Watch her," Archie whispered, a hand on Veronica's back guiding her toward the running couple. Veronica gasped as Betty jumped grabbing a rope Veronica didn't even see which swung her out away from the hill and rocks before she let go and went splashing into the water.

"I was going to do that," Jughead complained when Betty's head popped out of the water and she grinned at him before kicking her legs out and pushing herself backward in the water with her eyes closed. Jughead took a moment to watch her before grabbing the rope and pulling it back as far as he could before running to the edge like Betty did and crashing into the water next to her.

"What did he scream?" Veronica asked, chuckling at how high the pitch of his voice went.

"It's Jughead, probably something about food," Archie laughed glancing into the water to see his best friends splashing water at each other like they did when they were kids. "Your turn," he said tugging at the throw-over she had on.

"What?" Veronica asked turning to face him to make sure she was hearing him right. "Why don't you jump in first so I can watch how you do it," Veronica said dragging a finger down Archie's bare chest seductively and Archie gave her a look that told her he knew exactly what she was trying to do.

"Hmmm," Archie grunted to himself and gently curled his fingers around her wrists pulling her hands off his chest and then shook his head at her. "Nope, you gotta do the jump first."

"Come on V, it's the best feeling ever," Betty called from the water, smiling up at her encouragingly.

"You aren't scared are you?" Jughead asking wiggling his eyebrows and Veronica frowned at him, she knew he was joking but it still made her want to prove him wrong, so she made a show off taking off the throw over and turning to grab the rope when she froze at the thought of jumping of the edge of the hill.

"I'll talk you through it, it just looks scary," Archie said into her ear, she shivered at how close he suddenly was to her, he reached up next to her and grabbed a hold of the rope pulling it back and pulling her with it before placing it into her hands and placing his hands over hers. "Just run straight to the edge and jump, as soon as you're in the air let go of the rope and you're in the water."

"I..." Veronica could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she leaned back more heavily against Archie's chest, he was solid and stable. She was never a daredevil, this was something she would watch the boys do while she and her friends lounged in the sun encouraging them to be a little more adventurous.

"You're over thinking it, you'll be fine, I promise," Archie told her and Veronica could hear the smile in his voice, the childish joy that she wanted him to keep for as long as he could. She tightened her grip on the rope and took a calming breath in. "I'll be in right behind you."

Veronica felt her legs turn to jelly even as she started running, she closed her eyes as she jumped only vaguely recognizing Archie's voice telling her to let go of the rope, as if her arms could hold on for longer than that and then she was in the water, her legs automatically kicking to propel her body up. "That was terrifying," she gasped when her head popped out of the water.

"You loved it," Betty laughed, looking up and cheering as Archie did some sort of weird half flip in the air landing in the water with the biggest splash.

"Maybe just a little," Veronica allowed and Betty smiled satisfied with the answer. Veronica squeaked when hands grabbed her waist and suddenly Archie was right there behind her picking her up. "Archikins!" she scolded giggling.

"Do you know what I love the most about this place?" Jughead asked floating on his back next to them with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. "No-one else knows about it."

"You're so antisocial," Betty teased splashing him with water. Jughead gasped and stood up straight to retaliate sending a wave of water her way and getting Veronica and Archie as well which turned in to an all our water war until eventually Jughead got out of the water and made his way too their picnic area.

"That's enough water in my eyes for now," he said plopping down on a towel. Betty was trying to convince him to get back in when Archie noticed his girlfriend was very quiet.

"Hey," Archie said swimming up to her and she smiled gently at him wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, keeping as close to him as she could get herself.

"Hey yourself," she said running her fingers through his hair, her eyes following the movement of her hand as he watched her.

"What's going on Ronnie," he asked and Veronica glanced back to Betty and Jughead who were immersed in their own conversation before she looked back at Archie and smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Tell me."

"I love you," Veronica said after a moment, smiling at his smile and pressing kisses to his eyelids and then his nose and his cheeks until eventually he got tired of her kissing the rest of his face and tilted his face so that he could press his lips to hers.

"I love this costume," Archie said between kisses reaching between them to hook his finger into it at the top of her leg before dragging his knuckle slowly against the edge of the material toward her centre until she gasped, pushing herself closer to him and Archie grinned removing his hand to hold around her waist again. Veronica frowned, giving him her most unimpressed look but before she could say or do anything else, he spun them around in the water making her giggle and throw her head back. "Distracted enough?"

"Maybe too much," Veronica laughed, this moment was not the moment to wallow in her fear and worries, she knew that he knew where her mind was and she knew how badly he wanted to forget, she wished she was as good at outwardly pretending everything was perfect as Archie, Betty and Jughead seemed to be.

"I love you too," Archie said to her earlier confession and Veronica bumped his nose with hers before kissing him again, until Jughead called for them to cut it out and to get out of the water and eat before he and Betty finished off all the food. Veronica glared at him for disturbing her perfect moment with Archie before letting the redhead move her onto his back and carry her out of the lake to their other friends.

After lunch the couples got back into the water, the girls managed to set up their floating beds and sunbathed while the boys swam around them, telling each other stories and bringing up memories to reminisce over.

There was one point where Betty was telling Veronica a story about the twins when Veronica caught Archie's tense posture as he spoke to Jughead, she knew what they were talking about, Serpent protection in prison. She hated that Jughead brought it up today of all days but they were out of time, there was no other day for them to decide what to do.

Archie looked up when he felt her staring and locked eyes with her, his entire posture relaxing as he smiled tightly tilting his head p as if to ask if she were ok and Veronica just narrowed her eyes in response. Archie said something to Jughead before diving into the water and popping up right at her side, Veronica smiled sadly as Archie pressed a kiss to her thigh, his wordless way off telling her it was ok.

"Should we light a fire?" Betty called out to them and Veronica turned to see her friends already wading their way out of the water, talking softly to each other.

"We'll be right there," Archie said taking a hold of Veronica's floatable bed and swimming backward toward Betty and Jughead, pulling her with him. "It would be so easy to tip you over right now," he grinned.

"You wouldn't dare," she gasped, she was dry, even her hair was close to being completely dry, she was in no mood to get wet again, especially not with the sun setting in the distance.

"I would but then you might murder me in my sleep and I feel like I have a couple good years left in me before that happens," he laughed and Veronica glared, letting him pull her right to land and help her out of the water with minimal water touching her.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing at the edge of the lake with a fire between them, talking about everything but what was waiting for them when they got back to Riverdale. Veronica felt lazy as she lay back in Archie's arms, being lulled to sleep by the rumble of his voice and the warmth of the fire as he spoke to his two best friends and pigged out on the junk food left over from lunch.

"Ronnie," Archie said nudging her, Veronica tilted her head up and blinked sleepily at his amused face. "Come on we're going back."

"No," Veronica complained as he hooked his arm under her legs, preparing to stand up with her. "Let me down, I'll walk."

"You sure?" Archie asked and Veronica made a face the amusement in his voice before stretching her arms up as they stood and gasping at how dark the sky had gotten and then looking at the same darkness reflecting in her boyfriend's eyes.

"I don't want today to end," Veronica told him reaching up to cup his cheek and Archie nodded leaning into her hand.

"Me neither," he said turning his head to press a kiss to her palm before walking them back to the car, his arm around her shoulder and her arms tight around his waist. Jughead and Betty were already in the backseat half asleep themselves, well, Jughead was fast asleep, his head resting against the window and his arm wrapped securely around Betty who was sprawled across the seat with her head on his chest watching them as Archie helped Veronica into the front seat.

"Are you going to be ok to drive Arch?" she asked pushing herself up slightly, Archie nodded motioning for her to get comfortable again and she yawned, tucking her head back onto Jughead's chest and closing her eyes. "Wake me up if V falls asleep," she mumbled.

"B," Veronica whispered loudly, reaching back to poke her friend and giggling when she found the blonde already asleep. "That was quick."

"It was the same when we were kids," Archie told Veronica as he jumped into the driver's seat. "Betty and Jughead would be asleep before the car even started but I could never sleep, I didn't want to miss anything, I wanted the day to last as long as I could make it last."

"Didn't the movement of the car make you sleep?" Veronica asked stretching her arms up as Archie started the car and started to manoeuvre them out of the woody area.

"My parents always spoke the entire way back home, telling each other stories," Archie said smiling wistfully to himself, he missed those days when he was a child and everything was easy and his mom was always there and his dad wasn't stressed or sad. "It's going to be a quiet drive."

"I'll be awake with you," Veronica assured him even as he looked at her sceptically. "I promise, don't give me that look."

"Says the girl that always falls asleep when I drive you home, and that's like a 5 minute drive," Archie said with a laugh, reaching over to hold onto Veronica's hand after they were on the main road back to Riverdale and he didn't need to change gears again for a while. She rolled her eyes and stopped fiddling with the radio to find something to listen to, choosing to just switch it off because there was nothing on and the couple in the back seat were fast asleep in each other's arms and she didn't want to wake them. Veronica smiled at Archie and flipped her hand over so she could thread her fingers through his, squeezing slightly. "Are you staying with me tonight?"

"Of course I am, where else would I stay," she said twisting her body to face him and wiggling herself closer to him to rest her cheek on his shoulder, bringing both her legs up to tuck underneath her. "Your mom might hate it but she's not going to kick me out tonight."

"She won't try," Archie said with a roll of his eyes, his mother had not had the best impression of Veronica in her last few visits to Riverdale and all of that was because of one Hiram Lodge and his manipulation of the Andrews men, his mother needed someone to blame and Veronica became that someone but she took it all in her stride, ignoring Mary's jabs and staying positive for Archie. "Especially not when tomorrow might be my last day as a free man."

Veronica made a strangled sound deep in her throat and gripped his arm tighter. "The trial will probably last longer than just a day, there's no direct evidence linking you to his death, it's all just speculation," she listed off, rambling about the trail and all the things they had heard from his mother and Sheriff Keller who were helping Archie prepare for the trial until she noticed the smile tugging at her boyfriends lips. "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing ... you," Archie said after a moment, he didn't even realize that he was smiling until she pointed it out to him. Squeezing the hand that was still linked with his, he glanced over at her still looking confused and wished he wasn't driving so he could keep his eyes on her. "Just at how much you know and how much you're doing for me, I don't deserve you Ronnie."

"No, you deserve so much better than me," Veronica whispered, her voice catching in her throat as she fought of her tears. "This shouldn't be happening to you."

"This shouldn't be happening to anyone," Archie said taking a deep breath. "But it is and we just need to figure out what's going to happen if they find me guilty."

"They're not," Veronica said sharply and Archie shook his head to let her know that he didn't want her sugar-coating anything for him.

"Ronnie, please," he begged, wanting her to just be honest with him. She clenched her teeth, this was not the direction she expected the conversation to go when she told him that she would stay up with him, she wanted to be as far away from this topic as possible, to keep this day as perfect as possible for him, in case everything really did fall apart, he needed this memory.

"I'm not going to stop trying to prove that you're innocent, you are not a killer and you're not going to be incarcerated because my father wants revenge, I'm going to find proof even if I have to fabricate the evidence like he did to get you into this mess," she said shaking with rage that she hadn't yet had the time or courage to release.

Archie tugged on her hand and Veronica shook her head to let him know that this was not the conversation to be having right now so he let her be. Veronica steered the conversation onto lighter topics, even going as far as to wake up Betty and Jughead for the remainder of the trip back to the Andrews house to help keep her mind and Archie's on something else for a while to end this day as carefree as they intended it to be. Waking up the other couple worked because Jughead complained so much there was no room for any other thoughts or conversation.

When they finally reached the Andrews house, Jughead and Betty both hugged Archie tighter and even though they made it seem like this was just another day and they would see Archie the next day and everything would be normal, they would just be getting ready for the next school year they couldn't pull it off quite as effortlessly as they hoped. Archie graciously let them pretend to keep the easiness of the day.

They entered the house as quietly as they could but Mary and Fred were sitting in the dining room still awake pouring over her notes for court the next day, the Andrew parents acknowledged Archie and Veronica's entrance and let them go up to Archie's room without another word.

"The worst thing about swimming is washing my hair after," Veronica complained when she came into Archie's room after having a bath and drying her hair. Archie was perched on the edge of his bed in his boxers waiting for her to close the door and go to him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just waiting for you," he said as she came to sit next to him throwing her legs over his thighs grinning at him when he leaned back onto his hands and their position took her back to another night when emotions were high and she was cleaning up the wounds from a serpent fight she wasn't sure he would come back from. "You take so long."

"I have a long night time routine to keep this looking like this," Veronica said, her hand circling her face to show him what she was talking about, before her hand fell to his stomach to trace the hard muscle. "Just like your ridiculous workout routine with Reggie to keep this perfect."

"How else would I keep you interested?" he laughed and Veronica made a face at the implication that she was that vain. "Luckily for me, prison has a gym so I can keep these and then you won't leave me."

Veronica's hand paused and her eyes stayed on his abs, she couldn't look up at him just yet, she had too many emotions circling inside her chest.

"That was a joke," Archie whispered gently, covering the hand that was on his stomach and tugging on it for her to look up at him. "Ronnie I have to joke about it, if I don't then I don't know what I'll do."

Veronica didn't say anything, she just pushed herself forward to wrap her arms around his neck and press her lips to his in a bruising, desperate kiss that she hoped didn't feel like a goodbye to him the way it did to her. All of his talk about the next day not going the way she prayed it would was breaking her down more and more the closer it got to the start of the trail. "I can't," she whispered against his lips when they broke apart, her knees now on either side of his hips straddling him.

"Ok," he said softly, his hand coming up to push her hair back and wipe the tears that had managed to escape her control before kissing her again, softer, lazier, like they had all the world. "Better?"

"No," Veronica said laughing through her tears and shaking her head, the spell was broken, the feelings she tried to pause in the car on the trip back from the lake were out again and she couldn't control the fear that she felt for him, for everything going wrong no matter how prepared they were and how innocent he was. "It won't be better until this is over and you're back here with me and I can hold you without the fear that I won't be able to hold you like this tomorrow."

"We have tonight," Archie said tilting his head to the side and hooking a finger under her chin to bring her eyes back up to his when she looked away from him again. "Even if tomorrow goes horribly wrong, we have tonight."

Veronica nodded and leaned in to kiss him again, she knew that if she said anything she would start crying and she would ruin this night for him even more than she probably did with her fear.

"Ronnie," Archie says when they break apart. "I need you."

"You have me," she whispers breathlessly kissing him again and grinding her hips against his to show him that she's all his. Without any warning her back is pressed against the bed and Archie is hovering above her kissing down her neck and across her collarbone.

Archie's hands skimmed up her thighs pushing the slip she was wearing up as his hands moved, over her stomach, over her breasts, he picked up his head for the second it took to get the it over her head and fling the night dress to the other side of the room before his lips had descended back to hers, his tongue slipping past her parted lips and her hands pulling him closer as her knees pressed into the sides of his hips.

"Archie," Veronica gasped at the friction over the material of her lingerie. Archie stood up for a moment dragging her panties down her legs and getting rid of his boxers and slip a condom on, giving Veronica a moment to admire him.

"What?" he asked when he noticed the intensity in her eyes as she took in his body, Archie moved back over her positioning himself and waiting for her answer before anything else happened.

"Just taking in the abs you work so hard for to keep me interested," she teased and Archie snorted, his breath getting caught in his throat when her hand wrapped around him, pumping a few times before guiding him inside her.

And for a moment everything fades away, it's just them, Archie and Veronica, and nothing else. Her eyes slip shut and it's Archie's turn to admire her, watching the emotion play across her face as she adjusts to him before her eyes flutter open again.

"Move, babe," she reminds him rolling her body and Archie does, slowly, like he's savouring every second and the slower he goes the longer he can drag it out. "More," she moans and Archie dips his head to kiss her as he speeds up his movements, her back arching against him in the most delicious way.

He isn't even sure who comes first, but whoever it is takes the other with them and they're both left gasping for air, their bodies pressed so close together their erratic heartbeats feel like one.

"Hey," he whispered pressing a kiss to her cheek before moving to her lips when he finally caught his breath. "I love you."

"Don't move," she gasped when he made to roll off her, her fingers digging into his arms because she was gripping it so hard. "Not yet."

Archie closed his eyes and dropped his forehead to hers giving her a few moments before rolling onto his back, getting rid of the condom and pulling her up against his body. As much as he wanted to do what she wanted, he would have crushed her if he stayed where he was any longer, he didn't trust his shaky arms to keep his weight off her.

"The speakeasy is going to be a big hit," he whispered and she nodded into his chest, one of her hands coming up to trace patterns on his chest and the other going across her body to hold onto the fingers of his hand on her shoulder as if the more contact she had with him right now the better. "Everyone is going to love it."

"You will too," she said wiggling herself slightly so that she was more comfortable and he tightened his arms around her, tangling their legs together. "It's inspired by you."

"I already love it," Archie joked looking down to see her eyes closed. "Go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up I promise."

"Hmm," Veronica mumbled already drifting off, Archie buried his nose into her hair, inhaling deeply, trying to commit the distinct smell of Veronica Lodge to memory, he didn't have the optimism that she had about his trial, he knew there was more than enough circumstantial evidence that Hiram could find that would make damn sure that Archie looked guilty. "Archie," Veronica said softly and Archie looked down when she pushed herself closer to him, smiling when he realized she was fast asleep.

In the midst of all this chaos, she was his anchor. The last year and a half had been dark for him but she made it better, she made everything better, he wouldn't have gotten through any of it if it wasn't for her. So he memorized her features, staying awake for as long as he could to commit her to memory because after he was gone he wasn't going to see her again, he wouldn't want her anywhere near a prison, not where actual criminals would see her, he wouldn't trust any of Hiram's contacts in the prison to look at her and not see her as an easy way to get to her father or even to Archie, no-one would hurt her, no-one would have the chance, not for as long as he could help it.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, well, well look who's back with a brand new story, which will hopefully be 3 parts, I have outlines for the next 2 chapters, I cannot promise speedy posts**

 **Its been too long since I've attempted writing and this story just happened to be the only thing that I've managed to finish in a while, I kind of forced myself to finish it because the season premier is so soon and this is a pre- season 3 story that if I didn't post now, I would see what happens in season 3 and just never post it**

 **As for the smut, well I tried, still not the easiest thing to write for me but I'm testing it out a little bit more, hopefully I get to a point where I can write it as easily as I write fluff**

 **Anyway, the title is from the song 'Come What May' from Moulin Rouge, it just gave me so many Varchie feels especially the lyrics "Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide, but I love you, until the end of time"**

 **I hope that you guys enjoy this little story, please please review and let me know what you think, I apologize for not responding to reviews and messages, I see them, I just truly am so busy but know that I love you guys and I'm so glad that you took your time to read what I wrote and tell me how much you love it**

 **Until Next Time (^^,)**


	2. Stars may collide

"Where do you want these?" Reggie asked holding up a box to Veronica, who looked up from her clipboard and frowned, both at the tone of his voice and the box that she was sure she had already given him instructions for.

"What are those?" she asked walking over to him and using her pen to tip the box over slightly to look inside. "Whiskey glasses, they go under the counter with the rest of them."

"It's full," Reggie said with a sigh as if she should have known this already and Veronica took a frustrated breath in at having to think for him.

"Then you put it in the back with the rest of the extra stuff," she snapped, he knew this, Reggie looked like he was going to tease her for being so high strung but he caught the look on her face and thought better of it.

"Yes boss," he said settling on giving her a faux salute before adjusting the box back into both his hands and walking off, leaving Veronica scowling at his retreating form.

"This looks busy," Betty said walking up to Veronica and taking in all the work that was happening.

"B," Veronica gasped, hugging Betty tightly. "I didn't think you were coming until later."

"And miss you putting together the finishing touches before the opening?" Betty asked as Veronica guided her to a couch and sat them down. "I'm here to help, Jug and Toni will be down soon, Jughead is grabbing a milkshake from Pop's first."

"Well, you three missed all the hard work, the Bulldogs and Vixens really came together to help me with this," Veronica said smiling at how at the beginning of the renovations, just after Archie was taken away, when she was at her worst and she wasn't even sure that she would open the Speakeasy, Reggie showed up with the entire team behind him telling her that it didn't matter what her parents did or who hated her, she was Archie's girl and they were there to help. She rolled her eyes at the misogyny of it all but she was grateful for the help and how it connected her to Archie. The Vixens showed up shortly after but Veronica knew that had more to do with fear of Cheryl Blossom than any loyalty to her or Archie.

"How does it feel to be a fully-fledged business woman at 17?" Betty asked, she was so proud of her friend and this Speakeasy was going to be a huge success, she could feel it.

"Like everything is going to be pulled out from right underneath me at any moment," Veronica said, grimacing at her own words before waving off Betty's concerned face with a smile and shook her head.

"Do you really think that your father will try to ruin this for you?" Betty asked knowing what and who Veronica was thinking about and Veronica nodded reluctantly. "You're his daughter, as evil as he is, that means something."

"I wouldn't put anything past him," Veronica said clearing her throat, Betty knew dysfunctional fathers but Hiram Lodge was a different kind of dysfunctional. He didn't need to mess with her Speakeasy, taking it away when he decided he needed it would be too easy for him, he already had the biggest bargaining chip to dangle in front of her, Archie Andrews release from prison. "He's been too quiet recently."

"Does your mom know if he's planning anything?" Betty asked, knowing that Hermione Lodge was trying her hardest to keep anything from happening to Veronica and feeding her daughter any information she could to keep her one step ahead of Hiram if there was anything that might affect her.

"Nothing yet, either he's keeping her in the dark or my presence does not affect anything he has planned," Veronica said with a shrug, Hermione was digging up something far greater than Hiram destroying Veronica's business venture. Shaking her head, she put on her most reassuring smile and looked back to Betty. "I'm just being pessimistic, Archie's blinding optimism would be wildly appreciated right now."

"He hasn't been the most optimistic person lately," Betty said sadly, looking down before realizing that this wasn't the time or place to bring up Archie's current outlook on life. "I'm sorry V, I shouldn't have..."

"How is Archie? Really?" Veronica asked, cutting Betty of before she could ramble out her apology, she told herself that she wasn't going to ask this question, that she was going to wait for him to speak to her but Betty brought up his feelings and Veronica couldn't stop her curiosity.

Fred always made it sound as if Archie was perfectly happy when he got back from his visits with Archie, maybe it was for her benefit or maybe it was because Fred needed to say that out loud to believe his son was doing just fine but Veronica just needed to know the truth.

"He's fine," Betty said quickly before catching the pleading look on Veronica's face for Betty not to lie to her. "He's pretending everything's fine but he's a mess, he'll be okay though, the serpents are looking out for him in there ... he wishes he could be here tonight."

"We all wish he was here tonight," Veronica said nodding her head and looking down at her clipboard.

"He really, really misses you," Betty said gently, which Veronica knew was supposed to make her feel better but it just strengthened the pang in her heart and spark her irritation at him.

"Does he?" Veronica asked and Betty looked up at her shocked, she didn't expect Veronica to ever doubt that. "He refuses to see me, he doesn't respond to my letters or calls, I have to wait for scraps of information from whoever goes to see him just to know that he's not dead."

"V," Betty started, reaching for her but stopping when she saw Veronica cringe away from her and put her hand back down on her lap. "You know why Archie doesn't want you there, he doesn't want you to see him like that and it's dangerous."

"I am not just some delicate flower he can put into a glass bottle and protect forever," Veronica snapped before taking a deep breath to calm herself down, catching Jughead and Toni coming down the stairs out of the corner of her eye. While Toni could always be counted on to avoid the topic of Archie and ensure Veronica's mood stayed upbeat with her bubbly personality, Jughead had the opposite effect and Veronica didn't think she had it in her to deal with the Serpent king in her current state. "If you'll excuse me."

"Veronica wait," Betty said standing when Veronica stood, reaching out to grab her arm to stop her from leaving.

"No B, I don't want to talk about it, he's fine with you going to visit him and it is just as dangerous for you," Veronica said, feeling the tears prick the back of her eyes, this was why she didn't want to talk about Archie, because every time she does she's filled with rage and dread.

"V, I have the serpents protecting me, I wish that I could offer you the same protection but they're a little apprehensive about protecting the daughter of Hiram Lodge, even if you are their kings friend," Betty said and Veronica rolled her eyes, if it wasn't for Archie and Betty, Jughead would have written her off a long time ago. "Just be patient a little longer, he's just not in a good place, I'll call you the next time I'm there, then at least you'll get to talk to him."

"No," Veronica said watching Toni and Jughead approaching them, getting closer and closer. "He doesn't want that, let's not make it any more uncomfortable than it already is," Veronica said backing away from Betty. "If you still want to help, you can move those empty boxes to the dumpster outside or talk to Cheryl, she has a list."

"Veronica," Betty called again, Veronica wasn't going to stop but there was a note of panic in Betty's voice that made her turn around to face her best friend. "Don't give up on him."

"Never," Veronica promised, if there was anything that she knew for certain, it was that she would not give up on Archie, no matter what.

"Hey," Reggie said when Veronica walked into the backroom that led to her office. He was still taking out the whiskey glasses from the box and Veronica looked up annoyed at the speed at which he was going but too exhausted to actually make a fuss about it. "What he's doing to you is messed up but Archie's a good guy, if he says he wants to protect you then you gotta believe him."

"What?" Veronica asked surprised, she didn't expect Reggie to bring up Archie without prompting, or to be so sincere.

"I heard what you and Betty were talking about when I walked passed you just now," he said sheepishly, knowing that Veronica knew he didn't just happen to overhear anything, he was shamelessly eavesdropping. "About Andrews not wanting you to see him at the prison."

"Reg … just not now, okay?" Veronica said, she was not having this conversation right now, she needed to be distracted right now, usually Reggie would frustrate her to the point that she wanted to kill him with his immaturity but he chose now to grow up and be a good friend. "Don't let anyone back here."

Veronica didn't wait for any acknowledgement from the Bulldog, she just stalked into her office and closed the door, locking it so she didn't have to deal with anyone barging into her space. She walked to her desk and sat down slowly, she needed to prepare for the night, she needed to reset her emotions so she could enjoy everything she was fighting to achieve with this Speakeasy. She hadn't cried since the night they took him away, she couldn't, she had to be stronger, she had to do more, she had to get him out.

Her wall of evidence relating to his case taunted her, the longer she stared at it the angrier she got, she wanted to tear it all down and start over, maybe she missed something because she was staring at the same thing for so long, but maybe everything that she needed was right there in front of her and she just needed to look hard enough. It didn't matter if Archie blamed her or didn't want her anymore, she promised him that she wouldn't stop until his name was cleared and Veronica Lodge would not break this promise to Archie Andrews no matter the cost to herself.

* * *

"You know, this turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would," Reggie told Veronica as he wiped a glass behind the bar, Veronica looked up from her wine glass and smiled at him, looking handsome in his shirt and bow-tie, playing bartender for the night. For that old school effect all her bartenders had bow-ties and suspenders, her guests where dressed in 1920's attire but she kept her music very modern.

"You doubted me?" Veronica teased with as much disbelief as she could muster, truthfully, right up until she said goodbye to Jughead and Betty who were the last to leave she had her doubts about the Speakeasy, about how people would react to it and whether or not her father might ruin it. Reggie rolled his eyes but laughed at the lightness in her voice, it had been a while since he heard her this relaxed. "I'm wounded."

They were quiet for a moment as Veronica walked around the bar to stand beside Reggie to pour herself another drink and looked around her Speakeasy. It looked expensive, dark wood and dim lighting, couches and booths filled up most of the floor with partitions between them to give people a sense of privacy without completely closing them off from the vibe. The music that evening was supplied by the newly reformed Josie and the pussycats, Veronica and Josie were friends again, at least Veronica thought they were but she knew how quickly that could change, the friendships of Riverdale didn't differ as greatly from New York as she once thought.

She wondered how much better it would have been if Archie were there, at her side. She would have made him perform of course, she adored it when he sang or played the guitar. She wondered if he would have liked the decor she chose or if he would care, if he would have danced with her and what it would feel like to have him watch her with pride that she was his like he did at her confirmation. The entire night was bittersweet, thoughts of Archie drowning out everything else.

"Archie is going to love this place, he's already so proud of you for making all this happen," Reggie said quietly taking out 2 shot glasses and pouring them each a shot of tequila, pushing one out to her and picking the other one up. Veronica sighed, Archie was the last thing she wanted to discuss tonight, especially not the way Reggie wanted her to speak. "Yeah I know, you don't want to talk about him but humor me, would you?"

"Bottoms up," Veronica mumbled clinking her glass to his and taking the shot, wincing as the clear liquid burned down her throat and shivering at the taste, she needed more alcohol in her system for this. "You first, what's plaguing that simple mind of yours, I know you didn't hang back after everyone else had left just to polish the clean glasses, you're not that committed to the job."

Reggie snorted and put down his dishcloth and the wineglass he was working on, pulling up a chair and sitting down, motioning for her to do the same. "What if I stayed behind because I was worried about you and I knew that you wanted to talk about Archie."

Veronica raised a sharp eyebrow and Reggie chuckled. They had grown close enough since he started working at the Speakeasy that he became the person she went to when she needed to talk and vice versa, with everything going on everyone else was either busy or lost in their own grief that she couldn't bear to burden them further with her troubles.

"Fine, fine, I didn't stay behind just to talk to you about Archie," Reggie said refilling their glasses, before getting a pensive look on his face. "Josie was with Chuck tonight, all night."

"I didn't realize that you two were exclusive," Veronica said carefully, she saw Josie and Chuck together but she didn't think that it would affect Reggie at all. Reggie and Josie had been gravitating toward each other more during the summer on a strictly friends with benefits agreement that only she and the other pussycats knew about but Veronica didn't know that Reggie wanted to make it a proper relationship.

"We aren't, that's not the deal," Reggie said sighing frustratedly, running a hand through his perfectly slicked back hair making it stick up in all directions. "I wasn't supposed to fall for her."

"Oh," Veronica started before the gravity of what he said hit her. "Ooh," she said dragging the o out longer as her eyes widened. "Did you tell her this?"

"I wanted to, but she was either on stage performing or on the dance floor dancing with him, or talking to him in dark corners, or draping herself all over him like they were trying to rub it in my face," Reggie said taking another shot without waiting to see if she would as well and Veronica shot him a sour look as she poured her own shot. "Cheers."

"What if she was trying to rub it in your face, you dolt," Veronica said rolling her eyes and reaching out to poke his forehead. "Josie has wanted more since you started this whole friends with benefits thing with her."

"Well why didn't she say anything," Reggie asked Veronica reaching out to poke her forehead back and Veronica frowned.

"Maybe because you made it clear that you didn't do relationships," Veronica pointed out. "And you basically flirted with anything that had a short skirt on."

"How short are we talking?" he teased and Veronica rolled her eyes, he could turn anything into a joke. "It doesn't matter, he's changed since he came back, he's probably better for her than I am anyway."

"You're a good guy Reggie, when you're not acting like an ass," Veronica said as she shimmied herself closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him a hug. "I think you need to tell her how you feel."

"What if you're wrong, what if I pour my heart out to her and she decides I'm not worth it?" Reggie asked with a sigh pouring again. "I'm not boyfriend material, I'm not what she needs."

"I don't think Josie will see it that way," she said letting go of him and moving back onto her seat, taking her shot and another in quick succession because of where her thoughts were. "I didn't think I was girlfriend material until Archie, relationships were pointless until him."

"Even with all this pain?" Reggie asked straightening his posture which Veronica saw as a shift from his troubles to hers and she nodded taking another drink.

"Loving him and being loved by him makes all of this pain and frustration worth it," Veronica said, her eyes tilting down and Reggie narrowed his eyes at the tone of her voice. "Maybe it wasn't worth it for him but you're not me, Josie's lucky."

"What are you talking about V?" Reggie asked and Veronica sighed, plucking the bottle out of his hand and drinking straight from it. "Archie is wrong-fully in prison and it's all my fault."

"That's not true," Reggie said immediately, shaking his head.

"Oh but it is," she said and Reggie could hear the slur in her voice, this would probably be the time to take the bottle away from her but he wasn't that good a person, and she looked like she needed to drown her pain in it. "I tried to keep him away from my father, halfheartedly because I thought it would work out but I did, I tried to protect him from the darker parts of my family but all I succeeded in doing was making him the perfect pawn for my father to use."

"None of that is your fault V," Reggie told her watching her take another gulp. "You know better than I do that Andrews makes his own decisions."

"Do I?" Veronica asked, wincing at the crack in her voice. "I was selfish, I loved him, just not enough to stay away and I wanted to trust my father so much that I exposed him to the most precious person in my life, I should have known better, love is not something that I deserve and my father should never be trusted."

"Ok, no," Reggie said grabbing Veronica's shoulders and turning her to face him when she started to drink straight from the bottle again. "First of all, I need to drown my own problems without you finishing my kryptonite," Reggie said plucking the bottle out of her hand and putting it on the table and then turning back to Veronica who rolled her eyes, that was not the only bottle, if he was lazy to find another one that was his problem. "And second … you deserve love, you deserve the kind of love that only someone like Archie is capable of, your father might be his own brand of psycho but you should never feel bad about wanting to trust him."

"Archie broke up with me," she whispered looking up at Reggie.

"He did what," Reggie asked snorting because the tequila was doing its job and he was hearing wrong, but a look at her face told him that he heard her right and Reggie's jaw dropped. "What?"

"After weeks of ignoring me, I got a call from him last week, it was short and to the point and he said he wanted to end things between us," Veronica said pushing her hands through her hair and shrugging as he stepped away from her because 'What!'. "He said he doesn't want me going to the prison and it's too hard to talk to me so I should just move on, it would be easier on both of us this way."

"Can you do that?" Reggie asked, he knew what Archie was doing, he didn't think he was getting out so he was trying to save Veronica the heartache of waiting for him but he was such an idiot to believe Veronica would ever want that.

"Only one way to find out," she said and Reggie raised an eyebrow at the way she said it. Maybe it was how much he sounded like Archie or maybe it was how this night had all of her emotions in conflict with each other or the anger at Archie breaking up with her after everything they had been through or maybe it was just something as simple as too much alcohol in her system, that made Veronica push up onto her toes and press her lips to Reggie's, her arms going around his neck and his wrapped around her waist as he deepened the kiss, pushing her back against the counter and everything just felt wrong.

His lips were wrong and his height and his hands and she did not fit against his body and it was all wrong, so, so wrong.

Oh no," Veronica gasped when she broke apart from him, her head was spinning and her breathing was shallow and she was terrified of opening her eyes because when she did she would have to face what he had just done. "Oh no, oh no oh no..."

"Veronica," Reggie said softly, pleading with her not to run as she shook her head and pushed herself out of his arms. Veronica turned and sprinted out of the speakeasy, not stopping as Reggie called after her.

Veronica made it all the way to Archie and Betty's street, the sky was starting to lighten by the time she came to a stop, she couldn't even remember taking of her heels but they were in her hands. She tried to catch her breath as she looked up at his house, to his window. Fred was probably still asleep or being woken up by Vegas for his early morning walk, Veronica wasn't even sure if it was early enough for that.

The streetlight flickering off brought Veronica's attention back to the present where she was standing on the road opposite the Andrews house barefoot and waiting, for what, she wasn't sure, all she knew was that she didn't have anywhere else to go. She couldn't go to Betty's, she couldn't face her and Jughead after what she had just done, she couldn't go to her parents house, she hadn't lived there since Archie was arrested and she wasn't about to go back, she couldn't just walk up and knock on the Andrews door, how would she even explain her presence there at this time of the morning slightly drunk and a complete mess.

"Veronica?" she cringed, shutting her eyes and squeezing them tight before opening them to see a concerned Fred Andrews, looking like he had aged a decade standing in front of her holding on to Vegas' leash. Vegas was sniffing her leg and wagging his tail excitedly like she had brought his owner home. "What are you doing out here honey, it's freezing."

"It's … I'm-" she was going to say fine, but she couldn't get the words out of her mouth. It wasn't fine, she wasn't fine, it felt like nothing would ever be fine again. "I am not okay."

She shook her head as the tears escaped and her voice cracked, Fred took a step toward her and wrapped her in his arms without another word, letting her lean on him and cry into his chest in the middle of the street, in the early light of the morning where the neighbors could all look outside the window and see Veronica Lodge completely broken in Fred's arms but she couldn't bring herself to care, she was tired of pretending, she wasn't handling this as well as she had hoped.

From the moment Archie was taken away, Veronica threw herself into making the Speakeasy a success and when she wasn't working on that or going to school and doing her homework, she was searching for loopholes and evidence, anything that would clear Archie's name. She became numb and she became hard, certain that she'd have time for her emotions and thoughts when Archie was back because only after he was back could this grip on her heart be released. Until now, when he decided to end things between them, because the possibility of his return home had faded to nothing but her incessant hope and when she did something so incredibly stupid like get drunk and kiss Reggie Mantle in the middle of her Speakeasy because she was lonely and angry and Archie still wasn't there.

"Come on, kiddo, let's get you inside, yeah?" Fred said softly when her sobs finally faded, tugging at Vegas' leash to lead the way. Veronica nodded and turned to walk inside grateful for the soothing voice and compassion of Archie's father.

"I'm sorry," Veronica told him once they were inside the house, seated at the kitchen with mugs of steaming hot chocolate in their hands, lost in their in memories of Archie trying to cook dinner or rush through breakfast in the morning because he was never on time.

When the verdict was given and Archie was found guilty, Veronica watched a father, this father, break. When Hiram stepped into his line of sight, Veronica really thought that Fred would kill him, if it wasn't for Sheriff Keller and Archie grabbing his arms and keeping him back, Veronica shuddered to think of the blood that would have been spilled that day. None of that would have helped Fred's pain or stopped her fathers evil.

"Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry about, I've missed you around here, it's been too quiet," Fred told her reaching out to place a hand over hers and give her an encouraging smile, if Veronica's eye's weren't completely dried out she was sure she would have been crying again. "Where have you been staying? When I spoke to your mother, she assumed you were here with me."

Veronica cleared her throat and shrugged sheepishly , she was tired of lying, of pretending things were okay, of being alone. "At the Speakeasy," she said eventually. "I thought it would be easier to be away from this house and out of the way."

"Is it?" Fred asked tilting his head curiously and Veronica smiled at how much it reminded her of Archie, she shook her head no and Fred clapped his hands together and straightened his back. "Okay, then it's settled, we're going to get your things and you're moving back in here, Vegas missed you."

"I missed him too," Veronica said leaning down to run her fingers through the dogs hair as he lay at her feet, where he had been since he saw her that morning. "Thank you Mr Andrews."

"Fred, Veronica, call me Fred," he reminded her with a sad smile, remembering a dream in which he became her father-in-law, that dream would be a reality, he just had to believe it would.

"When is Mrs Andrews coming back?" Veronica asked, she and Mary had bonded during Archie's trial, especially when Veronica would stay up with the Andrews matriarch going through case files and helping her prepare.

"She's going to try to be back by the end of the week," Fred said finishing his hot chocolate and standing to wash his mug in the sink. "Her firm was as understanding as they could be through this ordeal but she needed to go back, tie up some loose ends and decide her next move especially with everything looking so permanent."

Veronica cringed at Fred's resignation, even Vegas whimpered at her feet.

"We can go get your things as soon as you're ready," Fred said turning back to her.

"Could we get my things later? I think I just need to sleep for a while," Veronica said swallowing nervously, it only occurred to her now that Reggie might still be there and she couldn't face him yet. Fred nodded at Veronica and tilted his head up to the stairs to let her know that she should make herself at him.

Vegas followed Veronica into Archie's room, jumping up onto the bed when she sat down at the edge.

"He wouldn't like that," Veronica said laughing at the dog who looked up at her daring Archie to come back and make him get off his bed. "I wish he was back too."

She picked up a framed picture of them that Archie had on his bedside table, it was of the two of them at one of their school dances, her arms around his waist as she stretched up to kiss his cheek and his arm around her shoulders looking at the camera, eyes sparkling with mischief and a huge grin on his face. It was the beginning of their relationship before the Blackhood and her father, back when everything was innocent and easy.

"I'm so sorry," Veronica whispered, tears she didn't even realize she still had to cry dripping onto the frame from her sore eyes. This was the day she was dreading, the day her strength faded and she couldn't hold the emotions in any longer and Archie still wasn't home. She replaced the frame and lay down, Vegas wiggling his way to her so she could use him as a teddy bear and Veronica smiled. "We'll get him back Vegas, I promise."

* * *

 **A/N: Omg was that painful to write, was it painful to read? I was going for sad, really sad and a little frustrating, after reading it so many times I don't know how sad it actually is lol but anyway**

 **Thank you guys for the response on the last chapter, I love that you loved it, please let me know what you think about this one**

 **I want to try to have the final(maybe) chapter up before the premiere of season 3 but I don't think that's possible, I have maybe 50 words written for chapter 3 so not the best news, although I am stressed which means that I write more at work in the tiny breaks that I get so there's hope**

 **I know there's more to say but I cannot think anymore, don't hate me, it's not over yet**

 **Until next time (^^,)**


	3. But I love you

Veronica perched herself nervously on the counter of the bar of the speakeasy, her legs crossed, chewing nervously on her thumb nail, the Speakeasy was closed during the day so no-one was around to witness her being a nervous wreck. Today was the day that Archie was going to be released from prison, all their hard work and digging and fighting had worked, and he was coming home, months of absolute torture and isolation would end today.

Unless he didn't want to see her.

She paused and shook her head, no, she would not think like that, the only reason he broke up with her and he refused to see her was because he was in prison and it was like Betty said, he didn't want to put her in danger and he didn't know if he was going to get out. She took a deep breath and stopped herself from thinking too hard about it because the longer she did the more her blood boiled with the anger at him for thinking that she was just going to let him go.

Until the one thought that she had been avoiding turned her boiling blood to ice in her veins. Maybe the excuses where not to keep her away from the prison because it was dangerous or the break up wasn't because he assumed he wouldn't get out and he wanted her to move on. What if he blamed her?

What if he blamed her for not stopping him when he started getting involved with her family, what if he blamed her for taking them to the cabin where the murder happened, what if he blamed her for her father's actions in putting him in jail and what if he blamed her for not doing enough to keep him out of prison or not getting him out sooner.

What if, what if, what if.

"You are thinking way too hard."

Veronica blinked when her internal monologue was broken, she was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear what was said. She looked up and was momentarily blinded by the bright light hitting her eyes and the silhouette of the person standing in the doorway. She dropped her eyes back down to the counter and waited for the door to close again when she realized it was probably just Reggie and that he probably forgot his keys, again.

She and Reggie worked through their drunken kiss, although it took her almost a week to build up the courage to approach him, to which he just shrugged and made a joke that had her wondering how they managed to become friends. They both knew that whatever happened between them was a result of loneliness and alcohol, Veronica felt nothing more than friendship for him and she knew he wasn't lying when he said that it was the same for him, especially since he and Josie were now 'dating', or trying too. Veronica didn't ask too many questions, things were still a little awkward.

"This place looks incredible," he said and Veronica's head snapped up as he stepped further into the room toward her once the door closed and twirling slowly to take in everything that the speakeasy had to offer. His red hair almost shone like a beacon under the dim lighting and her breath caught in her throat as she slid slowly of the counter as if he would disappear if she moved too fast, staring at his back as he appraised the room. "You were right, I definitely love it, not really sure how it's inspired by me but if it looks this good, I will take that as a compliment."

For the first time in her life Veronica was completely speechless, even her thoughts seemed to have stopped, it felt like she was watching this scene from somewhere outside her body and it wasn't real. Her eyes were wide as he finally turned to face her, he had a short beard and he looked both buffer and skinnier than the last time she saw him, he looked taller if that were even possible. He was wearing his usual jeans, cardigan and converse that his dad probably took for him to change into, the boy next door get-up that he loved so much.

"Hi," he said softly, coming to a stop in front of her but not reaching out to touch her just yet because she hadn't moved or breathed, for that matter, since she realised it was him. Veronica shut her eyes and let out a slow breath, calming herself before she tried to speak.

"Promise me that when I open my eyes you'll still be here," she begged, squeezing her eyes shut tighter. "Promise me that you are not a dream."

She didn't have to wait long before he reached out and took her hands from her sides, pressing a kiss to her palms before putting them on his face. He ducked his head down and gently touched his lips to hers. Veronica started to cry as she pressed her lips harder against his, jumping into his arms when he bent down to catch her, anticipating her movements. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist.

In all of her dreams he had never kissed her, he just got close enough to touch before he was pulled away from her again, just before her fingers made contact. But here he was, holding her, kissing her, running his fingers through her hair. He was real, he wasn't a dream.

"I promise, I'm here and I'm not leaving again, for as long as you'll have me," he said when they broke apart, their faces were so close together that she felt rather than saw Archie smile before he was kissing down her neck and back up to her lips. Veronica giggled and pushed herself back just enough to look at his face properly.

"You're stuck with me for a very long time them," she answered, taking in his features like it was the first time seeing him. His brown eyes sparkled with laughter as he nodded, his slightly swollen lips tilted up in a grin and his flushed cheeks matched hers. There was bruising on his face both fresh and fading that she chose to ignore for the moment, she would focus on that later. "This is different," she murmured running her fingers over his beard, focusing on that new development for now.

"Good different?" he asked curiously with a raised eyebrow and Veronica could see that he was evaluating her too, taking in all her features, finding things that he might have missed since they last saw each other, making sure that she was unharmed, that she was real.

"I could get used to it," she said eventually, her fingers leaving his chin to run through his too long hair.

"But you don't want to," he finished and she smiled as she shook her head no, after all this time, he could still finish her sentences.

"I'm surprised your mom or Betty didn't shave you the second they saw you," Veronica giggled, Mary had mentioned Archie's beard in passing when they were setting up earlier and how much she wanted it gone.

"I haven't seen anyone else yet, my dad brought me straight here to see you, he figured you might be hiding out," he told her and Veronica tilted her head down to kiss him again. "I missed you so much Ronnie."

"I missed you too," she said, her voice catching as the tears she thought were gone tried to make a comeback, she had been waiting to hear her nickname from his lips for such a long time. "My Archikins."

"I wasn't supposed to make you cry," he whispered looking worried that his being there wasn't as happy as he thought it might be and she shook her head. "I just really had to see you."

"Happy tears, I promise, I'm so glad that you came to me first," she assured him taking a shaky breath and pressing a series of quick kisses to his lips. "I love you," she said, smiling at the relief on his face.

"I love you too," he replied beaming at her, he gently let her down when she moved, so she could stand by herself and tilted his head down so that he could kiss her again, his hands coming up to cup her cheeks, they had months to make up for.

"We should go see your mom and Betty and Jughead, they've missed you," she told him, bringing her hands up to cover his, as much as she wanted him all to herself for as long as possible, she knew that there were other people in his life that she needed to share him with right now. "And Vegas, he might have missed you the most."

Archie snorted at the comment but let her intertwine their fingers and lead him to the door, where his father still waited for them outside. "Ronnie," he started, tugging on her hand to pull her back to him and Veronica shook her head quickly, by the tone of his voice she knew that his next sentence would be serious and she wanted to save that for later when they were alone and no-one was waiting on them or would disturb them.

"We'll talk about everything tonight," she assured him switching off the lights and locking the door. "We have time now."

* * *

After they had left the Speakeasy, Fred drove them back to the Andrew's house, smiling the entire way, where Mary had a welcome home celebration waiting for them, Veronica had helped them set up and then her nerves got the best of her so she escaped to the Speakeasy just for something else to concentrate on with instructions to Betty to call her as soon as they knew Archie was on his way home.

"Surprise," Mary Andrews said as soon as they walked into the house, gathering her son up in a tight hug. "My boy."

"Hi mom," Archie said hugging her back before letting go and looking around the room at the Bulldogs, Vixens and even the Serpents there together to celebrate his release.

His hand reached back blindly and Veronica stepped up quickly to grasp it, letting him pull her with him as he went around the room greeting their friends. She was worried at first when everyone showed up to the Andrews house that they would overwhelm Archie, but he seemed to be in his element so long as she kept her hand in his.

"I've never been so relieved to see Archie sitting on his couch and talking to Jughead before in my life," Betty said when she came up to Veronica and hugged her side, watching the boys.

"You and me both B," Veronica laughed. "Thank you."

"He's my best friend, I would have done anything to help him," Betty said and Veronica smiled, Betty and Jughead had been her biggest help in gathering what they needed to help Archie, Veronica knew her father was keeping a close eye on her so she couldn't do anything drastic without him thwarting her plans. "Is your mom coming over?"

"No, she needs to show my father that her loyalty is with him," Veronica said with a sigh, her mother was the real reason Archie was out of prison, she fed Veronica whatever information she could without arising Hiram's suspicion.

"Archie's staring, want us to kick everyone out so you guys can have some alone time," Betty asked in a teasing voice and Veronica smirked but shook her head as she looked up to lock eyes with Archie who smiled widely at her. "Do you think he'll be ok?"

"I think Mary wants him to see a professional but I don't know how he'll feel about that," Veronica said with a sigh as Archie turned back to Reggie and Chuck who were now cajoling him into an arm wrestling match. "We'll give him tonight and see what he thinks about it tomorrow."

"Are you still going to stay here?" Betty asked. "My house is always available."

"Thanks B but with everything going on with your sister and mother, I think I'm going to stay away from your house a while," Veronica said as gently as she could and Betty nodded understandingly, if she could run away from that house right now she would. "Cheryl has multiple extra rooms that I can move into so tomorrow I'm going to choose one."

"Come on, let's go to the guys, I'm tired of these puppy dog eyes he keeps shooting you," Betty said once she was happy that Veronica had a place to go and laughing as they made their way to the boys. Veronica stood behind Archie, her hands on his shoulders, cheering him on as he took on Chuck.

For all her worries about Archie's state of mind, she was so glad that Mary put this together, it felt so normal, that Veronica almost forgot what they were celebrating.

They stayed up till late that night, their friends catching Archie up on everything that he had missed in Riverdale. Fred and Mary hovered around them, both trying not to intrude but just wanting to be in their son's space. Later that night once everyone had left Mary and Fred got to have him all to themselves for a little while, Veronica giggled at the look on Archie's face when his mother hugged him and then just refused to let go but she knew he was just acting, he missed his mother, even before.

As much as they were always close to each other, Archie and Veronica hadn't had a moment alone since they walked into the Andrews home and when they finally did they made their way up to Archie's room and crashed on the bed, Archie wrapped her up in his arms and within seconds they were both asleep.

Which is why when Veronica woke with a start to an empty bed, she started to panic. The sheets were still warm when she reached her hand out but her breath was already short and she had to convince herself that she didn't dream that he was back, it was real, the warm sheets on his side of the bed made her certain that it was real.

Veronica blinked her eyes a couple of times now to adjust to the dark before she felt the cold night breeze hit her face and she realized with relief that it really wasn't a dream. He was there, sitting on his roof but he was there.

She got up and grabbed a blanket and her robe, before climbing outside and draping the warm blanket over his shoulders. Archie jerked out of his thoughts when he felt the blanket but relaxed when he tilted his head back to see her there and smiled. He opened his arm out as an invitation for her to sit next to him and wrapped the blanket around them both when she did.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, clearing the sleep from her throat. She ran her hand down the inside of his arm till she reached his hand and interlaced their fingers, smiling when he squeezed her hand and started to move his thumb soothingly.

"I needed some air and I didn't want to wake you," Archie whispered, letting out a breath and tilting his head up to look at the moon peeking through the clouds.

"Well that didn't work out well because I kept getting up to make sure you were there," Veronica told him placing a kiss to his shoulder before resting her chin there so she could look up at him, watch his cheeks take that familiar tinge of red that told her he still reacted the same to her as he did before. "I had to be sure I wasn't dreaming."

"I am no longer a dream, and neither are you," he said turning to her and resting his forehead on hers. "You got me through a lot in there Ronnie."

"How?" she asked in a whisper, built up frustrations from the past few months being shaken up as she opened her eyes to stare at him. "I wasn't even on your list of people allowed to see you."

"Veronica," Archie said softly as she pushed herself away from him, her hand was still in his but her face was now looking away from his to the dark cloudy sky, she wanted to wait until they were rested and he was home at least a day but it looked like they were talking about this now.

"I needed something Archie, a letter, a message in a bottle, smoke signals, anything besides that one phone call telling me to move on," she scoffed feeling the tears gathering in her eyes, she was never an angry crier, not unless it's Archie she's angry with. "I would have hated every moment of seeing you in that place, but it would have been better than not seeing you at all."

"I know," he said softly trying to find the words to explain why he did what he did but she was already shaking her head no. She saw the panic in his eyes and she hated that she put it there, but they had already started this and if she didn't get it off her chest or get answers then she might explode.

"No you don't," she said, her hand leaving his as she pushed herself further away from him. "I spent the last few months shut out by you, you, the person I knew I could count on more than I could count on my own parents, suddenly wanting nothing to do with me."

"I didn't think I was going to get out, I was stuck in there not able to do anything," Archie said, his arms reaching for her but falling back down to his sides when it became obvious that she didn't want his comfort right now. "I thought that if I could keep you away from the prison then I could still protect you, none of your fathers people would get a chance to know you, none of the actual criminals would lay their eyes on you and you would stay of the Ghoulies radar, just because of this stupid tattoo and your connection to me, they would have come after you."

"So that's what this was?" Veronica asked narrowing her eyes and Archie felt the heat drain from his cheeks, he could see that she was taking this all wrong. "Protecting me? Newsflash Archie, I didn't need your protection, I can protect myself and even if I couldn't, my father might be the devil but he would never have allowed anything to happen to me."

"I would not trust your father with anything regarding your life," Archie snapped angrily and Veronica huffed out a breath, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Being part of a relationship is being able to protect the person you're with and that is what I was doing, everything in my limited power to protect you."

"Being in a relationship is also about communication," she countered and he shook his head and looked away. "If you had just told me – no, instead you used the one phone call we had to _break up_ with me."

"And it was the hardest thing I could do," he said, all the fight leaving him as he sighed and hung his head, defeated. "The last time my mother visited me, she couldn't even look me in the eye when she spoke about my chances of getting out of there, my father had already given up even though he was trying to be positive and I knew that there was no way I was coming home, the only way I could get you to move on, to stop my situation ruining your life, was to break up with you."

"You really thought I would give up on you that easily," she asked, her voice high with emotion and Archie couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips at the fact that nothing stopped her from making sure he got out of there. "I tried actually."

Archie raised an eyebrow and looked back at her at that comment. "Giving up on me?"

"No, moving on," Veronica told him her hand coming up to run through her hair as he waited for her to continue. "I kissed Reggie."

"I know," he said after it was obvious that she wasn't going to say anymore and she furrowed her brows and looked up at him confused. "Reggie came to see me a few days after the opening of the Speakeasy, he mostly just ranted about what an ass I was for the heartache I was putting you through and then he told me what happened and I almost killed him."

Veronica sucked in a sharp breath at how easily he said that but waited for him to continue, wondering why Reggie hadn't told her any of this.

"But then he started talking about Josie and alcohol, I didn't know if he was still talking to me or just talking to himself, until he started talking about you and everything that you were going through and how he wasn't even sure how you were holding yourself together," Archie said shaking his head and letting out a bitter laugh. "By the end of that visit I was grateful that you had him there, even if you kissed him, just to be there for you when I couldn't."

"Oh," Veronica said softly, trying to process Reggie telling Archie what happened and Archie coming to terms with it all before she really could.

"I'm not angry, I promise," he said when he saw the look on her face. "I practically pushed you into the first available drunk guy's arms, I'm just glad it was Reggie who's so in love with someone else that taking you away from me wasn't even an option."

"As if I would let myself be taken away," Veronica snorted at that moving herself closer to him again. "Where do we go from here?"

"Where ever you want to go," he said without missing a beat, giving her a half smile that she loved so much. "Can we just forget about that stupid break-up, if you can even call it that and that I was trying to be selfless and just be … us again, because Ronnie I really, really missed you and I don't want to spend any more time without you."

"You and me against the world," she whispered and Archie smiled reaching out to take her hand, squeezing it gently as he used it to tug her against him so he could wrap his arms securely around her, burying his face in her hair and breathing her in because he missed her and the moments like this more than she could possibly imagine. "I thought you blamed me."

"What?" Archie asked pushing her back so that he could look at her face and see if she was serious. "No, Ronnie, I could never blame you, it's not your fault, none of this is your fault."

"Archikins," Veronica said softly, reaching out to cup his cheek as the tears she fought to keep out of sight since she woke up finally pushed through. "If I had fought harder to keep you away from my family, from me, then you wouldn't have been on my father's radar, we could have avoided this, you would have been safe."

"No, no, no, no, none of this is your fault," he told her using his thumbs to wipe her cheeks. "I don't think you understand just how much I love you, I know the consequences but I would do it all again to have the last 2 years with you."

"You are more than anything I could possibly deserve," Veronica told him, kneeling so she could wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.

"Would you really have wanted smoke signals?" he asked curiously when they broke apart and Veronica laughed, was that really what he was focusing on now.

"Yes, that's how desperate I was getting," she told him.

"I'm sorry," he said pressing another kiss to her lips. "I wasn't thinking about how you would feel about it, I just wanted you safe."

"I know," she whispered, her fingers tracing his features delicately. "I forgive your misguided attempts at being my broad shouldered protector."

"Let's go inside, it's cold," he said nudging her toward the window into his room when she shivered, he helped her to the window before grabbing the blanket she brought and climbing in after her. Veronica shed her robe and stood at the foot of his bed watching him as he shut the window and closed the curtains before turning to see her watching him. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"No," she said shaking her head and smiling as she stepped toward him and tapped the underside of his chin. She was right, as soon as Mary got a hold of him his too long hair was gone and the beard was shaved off, Archie was back to looking like Archie again. Veronica gripped the bottom of his shirt ready to pull it over his head when he stopped her, placing his hands over hers. "What's wrong?"

She knew there wasn't going to be anything happing that night, both of them were much too exhausted from the day and Betty was not letting either of them sleep in tomorrow but she was used to him sleeping without a shirt and she wanted that feeling of closeness right now, to hear his heart beat right under her ear.

Archie took a breath and closed his eyes for a second and Veronica's heartbeat sped up as she waited for him to speak, she would not jump to self-depreciating conclusions she just had to focus on him. When he finally opened his eyes again, he looked at a point above her head and took his shirt off. Veronica flinched at the scars and bruises marring his perfect body.

"What did they do to you?" she asked more to herself than to him, one hand coming up to cover her mouth and the fingers of her other hand tentatively reaching out to touch him, pausing when he tensed. "I'm not going to hurt you," she promised, her eyes shooting up to his face where he was still looking straight ahead. When she first saw him at the Speakeasy she saw the bruises on his face, but she never thought that his body would look worse.

"They didn't like me very much in there," he said forcing out a laugh and moving himself forward slightly so that her fingers would make contact with his body, she hadn't moved since he tensed up.

"I hate them all," Veronica said, biting down on her lip as she ran her finger down a particularly large scar on the side of his ribcage. Archie reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist when he saw her start to shake with anger, the index finger of his other hand going under her chin to tip her head up to look at him, away from the bruises.

"I'm here with you now," he told her, his hands cupping her cheeks. "I'm fine, we're fine, they won't hurt me again."

"He might," Veronica said, her breath shallow as she thought of the things her father might try now that she had managed to play his game well enough that she got Archie back from right under his nose. "He will."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he told her, he had his own fears about Hiram Lodge targeting him again now that he was out of prison but the fact that Archie managed to get free had a bad impact on the people he was trying to control so before Hiram went after Archie again, he needed to gain his control back, regain the trust of his gang of evil leaders.

"I'm not losing you again," she said fiercely and Archie hissed when her finger dug just a little too forcefully into his side. "I'm sorry," she whispered shaking his hands off her so that she could tilt her head down and press a kiss to his skin where she had caused him pain.

"You won't," he said sitting down on the bed and tugging her down with him. "We just need to be extra careful until we know we're safe."

"We'll never be safe," Veronica said shaking her head, letting him lay them down so they were facing each other, their hands clasped between them. She could see how tired he was from his day but he was forcing himself to stay awake so he could talk to her. "Not until he's put away."

"Will you be ok with that?" Archie asked, furrowing his brows, no matter what happened, Hiram was her father and she was 'daddy's little girl' for the longest time.

"He's lost his right to me caring about him after I begged him to let you go and he flat out refused," she said clenching her jaw at the memory of her father looking at her straight-faced as she pleaded with him to stop Archie's trial, she knew he had the power and she knew he was the reason Archie was in this mess, all he needed to do was say the word and everything would be ok. "As far as I'm concerned he's dead to me."

"Hey," Archie soothed, his eyes wide at her bold statement but he could see the hurt underneath all that, he moved so he was lying on his back pulling her toward him so she was half on top of him and he could hold her properly. Her arms wrapped around him and he could feel her clinging to him, just like the night before his trial began, before everything fell apart, but it wasn't falling apart this time. "It's going to work out, I promise, we did not just walk through hell not to make it."

Veronica snorted at his words but pushed herself up to kiss him, she couldn't help it, she wanted to kiss him at any chance she got, she lost too many kisses in the time he spent away from her. "Did you watch a lot of romantic comedies in prison?" she asked, making her voice as light as possible to move away from the topic of her father.

"Had to find the best ways to charm my girl back into my arms if I ever got the chance," he told her, tucking her hair behind her ear and grinning, Veronica shook her head and giggled at him.

"Well it's working out very well for you," she said falling back to the bed and cuddling herself up to his side, resting her head just above his heart, where she wanted it to be and closing her eyes, letting the beat of his heart lull her to sleep like a lullaby. "Consider your girl, exceptionally charmed."

"Hey Ronnie?" Archie whispered and Veronica made a noise and tilted her head up, her eyes were still closed and she was sure his was as well, even as she felt his lips press against her head. "I love you."

"Till the end of time."

* * *

 **A/N: Is this the sappiest thing you've ever read or what?**

 **The conclusion of what was supposed to be done and posted before episode 1, I tried to get this out before episode 2 but it wasn't to be, I haven't watched the second episode yet but I will after I post this (Timezones bleh) I'm already mostly spoiled on the Varchie scenes**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this little story that I needed to write to pass the time before the start of season 3, there are a couple Veronica/Archie stories that I want to write so be on the look out for when those eventually come out**

 **I'm terrified of what this season is going to do to Varchie especially since they thought that they would be the couple that would be easiest to break up when they first planned it out and now that Camila and Charles are together it makes me even more nervous, while I love them as a couple IRL, I cannot and will not ship Veggie in the show**

 **Anyway, please read this and review and let me know all your thoughts in the comments**  
 **Until Next time (^^,)**


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